From the five-ring circus to the squared circle? From Jacques Rogge to Vince McMahon?

That could be the leap for Canadian skeleton athlete Michelle Kelly, the effervescent 25-year-old from Calgary, who obviously isn't afraid to dive headfirst into anything (skeleton is similar to luge, except they go face first down the icy run).

Kelly, who holds the world record on the track at Utah Olympic Park in Park City, is one of the favourites on a very strong Canadian team to wind up on the podium Feb. 20.

That's her focus now, obviously.

But there have been times -- and could be times -- when she's not so focused on turns, but turnbuckles.

The 5-foot-5, 141-lb., ex-gymnast and ex-bobsledder has been recruited by the World Wrestling Federation to become a wrestler and potentially a star of a women's circuit.

"I could be 'Skeleton Girl,' " she said with a laugh when asked what her WWF persona could be. "Once the Olympics are over, I'm going to leave my options open. (Wrestling) has been fun for me. It's a great release."

Kelly was recruited by a former bobsleigh teammate who worked out at the same gym. The husband of a friend of hers is a wrestler and passed the word the WWF was looking for women with athletic backgrounds.

They went to a tryout in the so-called "Dungeon" in the basement of the legendary Hart family, the first family of wrestling.

"At first I thought the idea was pretty cheesy," she said. "Wrestling? But I figured I would try it. I'm up for anything. It was kind of fun throwing some 200-pound guys around."

Kelly has been taken under the wing of Stu Hart, the patriarch of the clan.

Also on the offical Saltlake2002.com website she put over wanting to be a wrestler

Post-Olympic plans

Kelly is considering several career options after the conclusion of the Olympic Winter Games. She says she might remain in skeleton if she still feels there is more to accomplish. She also is considering going back to bobsleigh, this time as a driver. A third option that Kelly is seriously considering is joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as a wrestler. She became interested in the WWF in the summer of 2000, when her friend Kristy Lees, a member of the Canadian bobsleigh team, met some members of wrestling's famous Hart family while working at a gym in Calgary.

Given that the first two seasons total a huge seventeen episodes, I doubt the transfer is that bad. Squeezing forty-four episodes onto four discs: disaster. I almost picked it up the other day, but I'll wait until season four so I can get my KELLERMAN~!